46o HIGH IV AYS AND HORSES. 



In speaking of whips, I have nothing to guide 

 me except my own experience. I think it is a 

 mistake to have too heavy a whip, as it tires the 

 hand. I Hke a good heavy thong, as it can be more 

 easily thrown and caught than a hght one, particularly 

 in a high wind ; and there is no doubt that a long 

 stick is advantageous in more ways than one, as it 

 enables one to reach one's leaders with greater ease, 

 and certainty of hitting them just where you desired. 

 I do not like the thong to be too thick close to 

 where it is attached to the stick ; in my opinion it 

 is better when it is not much graduated, but nearly 

 the same size all the way down, terminating in a 

 thick, heavy, whip-cord point ; the quills round which 

 the thread is bound should be very strong, as it is 

 here that frequently a whip will break when double- 

 thonging one's wheelers. I always prefer a holly 

 stick with plenty of knots, to which a whalebone 

 continuation is attached, which acts as an intermediary 

 between the stick and the thong ; this whalebone 

 gives the whip an immense amount of elasticity and 

 enables one to throw one's lash with the greatest 

 precision, whilst the knots on the stick allow of 

 the lash being caught and held so as to form a 

 loop with which to strike one's wheelers if necessary. 



The handles are frequently now covered with seam- 

 less leather ; this, I am told, is the skin from the tail of 

 some animal drawn over the stick, after which it 

 undergoes some process to give it the requisite finish. 



It must be remembered that the stick should be as 

 straight as possible ; nothing looks worse than a stick 

 that is bent. 



Good whips when not in use should be hung up on 

 a whip-holder, screwed to the match-boarding on the 



